Tearing Down The House That Jerry Built

 you would stand a decent chance at instilling a good attitude of team first mentality. The younger the players learn this lesson, the easier it is to get them to buy into the idea.

nice
Winnie hahahahaha I just call him Grandpa Wade, Aw shucks guys its ok pizza and ice cream on me after the game!
Garrett might be a moron after all

CULTURE finally somebody on here finally brought this up, with all the armchair gm’s and guru’s on blogs I thought somebody by know would of said something about culture
real head coaches have these, Wade just has a ice cream buffett in the locker room instead
good stuff man, alot of options we have

in his first year, wouldn’t it be great if he told Dez to do the same thing, I think that would be awesome if Dez kept a list like that and then gave it to the next coach and said “these guys got to go”.

I really hope you never meet a drunk Jerry Jones in a bar.

I like the change in scouting. I love the statement of culture. The change in coaching is a given, but I would allow the new HC to choose as he wished from our present assistants and other staff. He will be choosing the staff to support whatever system he installs. After a proper evaluation of the players and coaches the HC will consult with you and the scouts to determine what is needed player wise. You will be responsible for the trades to get players needed or picks. The scouts will ID players fitting the coaches scheme and the draft board. The final decision on the board will be yours as well as the cap. After that let the people do their jobs.
     On a different note. Jerry has always been known for his loyalty to his people. He is not a cheapskate to those who have played for him. It is disgusting the way this team has folded on him this year. How you see him as GM is another story, but as owner he deserves better than this. An owner who really wants to win and is not afraid to spend to do it. Many fans of others teams would dream of this.

I feel your pain. But after that pain is gone, and a more cooler head starts to evolve, I think you’ll find my suggestion more to your liking….get rid of no players. Let the new Coach do that. He should have the say so.

Maybe now, some of these people that have defended Garrett’s philosiphy on offense will come around and see the error of it. I mean, really, Romo goes down, and we put Kitna in, and the same things that have plagued the team still keep happening? Coincidence, or a Halloween “Boo”?

The philosiphy- let’s hash it out Blings- 18 runs? do you really think that the type of runs out of these 18 were the type that affected the D we were playing? no, because only a couple of them were up the middle anyway. Barber has lost it, Felix can’t run with power and authority, and the only guy that has proven to be a consistent runner sits the bench. Did this run performance help the QB to the point of creating matchups favorable to the WR’s? Did we see any motion on offense? That is the Philosiphy on offense. Thus, failure. It doesn’t matter who we play.

On Defense, I’m with you buddy. Wade is a goo coordinator, but that’s it. this was his last head coaching opportunity. But hey, even though there was no stunting, or any changes on D, at least they did do one thing- they got Barry Church out there, and he was looking to hit someone. He hit Maurice-Jones Drew pretty hard, and was looking to knock people hard. When was the last time you saw that Blings? I, for one, was glad they finally did some sort of change on defense.

We can talk about new players, and current players all you want, but until the philosiphy changes, especially on offense, nothing will change. We will keep seeing the same re-run every week with the tipped passes for turnovers, the interceptions, and wondering why it happened, and asking whatever happened to the running game.

We shouldn’t tradeTashard for anything less than a second rd. pick . We actually need to keep him though. Felix is a situational RB, and does not run with enough power for my liking. Tashard will be our best RB in the future.

u shud be fired too… JJ did what he usually do get drunk and make bad decesions…
givin the keys to u seem to be a mistake already…

though I will disagree with you on Witten. The "Heart and Soul "is Romo.

Of course you can’t actually trade all of those guys, not that you CAN’T just that you wouldn’t be able too.

I think before you would do anything, you go back to your new head coach and cooridnators and let them take a look at these guys. No offense to you or anyone else on this board, but all of us are strictly intelligent fans.

I want a football guy to look at these guys and say “Yes, No, Oh God No”

A few comments: On the coaching situation, I agree about Cowher. Not a fan. Since he left the Steelers, have they missed him? Nope. The Steelers are a high-functioning organization. Cowher was an effective cog in their machine, but he’s not much more than that, IMO.

For the coordinators, the key is to let the head coach pick his own staff. Chain of command is important, and it’s violated when Jerry picks his head coach’s assistants. And, as a Bay Area resident with a closeup view of Mike Singletary, I can tell you that he’s not coordinator material. He’s not much of a football mind. He’s a fire and brimstone motivational speaker, but that’s it.

This team does have a lot to build upon, and I don’t see a prolonged rebuilding period if we make the right decisions this offseason, but who knows what Jerry will do?

And also, I think you would be surprised at how a guy like Leonard Davis has absolutely zero trade value with his contract and level of play.

As for OC, I hadn’t really thought about it because I would want the HC to choose but David Lee is a name I like.

I’m not so sure Choice even gets Dallas a 4 (much less a 3), and there’s no way in hell anyone is giving up a 4 for Gurode or Davis – Those guys have virtually no value whatsoever at this point. Not even sure if Bennett would attract a 4 for that matter either. Low production, high maintenance – Kind of crazy the to think what the Bengals were rumored to have offered for that guy a couple years ago.

I do agree with a number of your points though.

He’s good, but certainly not brilliant. Brilliant defensive minds don’t allow two straight games of playing the worst defense in football.

as always. Rec’d…
I’d take Cowher before Gruden. I personally give Dungy more credit for the Tampa SB than most fans do. Gruden won against a team that he was intimately familiar with, using Dungy’s team. They had been close for years…
Other than that I agree with almost everything you said. I love the back to business approach. Nothing is needed more…

I like a lot of what you said, but have some serious issues. Yes, we need Jerry to higher a GM. Yes, we need to establish a new culture not defined by media hype and some preordained right of success. But as others said, the new GM (you) AND coach need to evaluate talent together before you make the decisions, but I get why you make suggestions before getting to that point. I too wouldn’t trade Witten, but would also keep Bennett. I would love to get Ngata or some big body NT so that Ratliff could play DE.
However, in a business sense approach – but unfortunately that is a lot of what Jerry does and thus doens’t fire or allow players with high salaries to be benched, but anyway – it doesn’t make sense to trade 1st round picks like Spencer and Jenkins for 2nd or 3rd round picks. These guys have talent, just not playing that way with this current team. But even Ware didn’t play well yesterday with this team. In fact, no one has mentioned how bad he really was. His lack of contaiment led to the Jags two longest runs. A great point foyesboys made is the Giants. Sure, they had some bad injuries, but look at how much better the Def is playing with a new DC.
Choice and Felix should be our starting RBs next year and trading them doesn’t make sense.
With all the player moves you would make, it would mean 2-3 years of rebuilding and by that point, the mediocrity may get you fired.
Not that you suggested it, but I would NOT draft Luck and try to trade Romo. That would ensure the 2-3 year rebuilding plan and I have seen too many 1st round QBs become busts because they play behind an offensive line like ours.
I think our secondary becomes vastly improved if we draft Peterson, play him alongside Jenkins, and let Newman cover the slot. With some better defensive scheming and less man coverage with no pressure (i.e. this year) our secondary doesn’t seem so terrible. I don’t resign (Non)Sense, but draft a safety with upside in the mid rounds (or FA pickup) and let the young guys compete for starting job (AOA, Church, McCray, and draft pick).
Yes, fire all the coaches, but no need to throw Juraszek under that bus. I think he is great and the low number of Cowboys injuries, yes has to do with luck also, but I think he has a lot to do with it. Good rehab, good physical training, it’s basically age that is causing the Cowboys current injuries. I also like Ray Sherman and think you should look at him as a possible OC candidate. Don’t know if he has the strategy and ability to create an offensive gameplan, but he certainly good help with that new culture and be a motivator, so have the coach interview him to make sure. Those two guys are the ones that I would suggest to the new coach to consider keeping.

So I can see more Choice this year.

Also would like to see ANYONE other than Ball at safety.

Seriously… put the water boy out there.

The biggest issue is about lack of accountability. Think about it. We’re 1-6, so lots of stuff must have gone wrong. Who’s been benched? Who’s been fired? Who’s been made to significantly change the way they do things?

This is THE issue with the Cowboys and has been for quite some time. And it’s not even Wade. It is culturally ingrained in the organization, starting at the top with Jerry, but continuing all the way down.

That I can think off only Davis and Gronkowski have hit the bench. Is that coaching staff that afraid to bench someone??

but..

no way do I trade Choice and Jones- I firmly believe they’ve shown what they can do with the football when given the chance. Add to that their relatively cheap contracts and it’s a no brainer that with so many parts to replace, you keep both of these unique runners on the roster for at least another season. Barber is definitely a cut.

I don’t think you get the high draft choices you’ve suggested either.

Making us go three-wide as our standard set, means that one of the tight ends is expendable. 3 wides, one TE and one RB on the field for most plays. We don’t need 3 pass catching tight ends. Really regret not trading Martellus for Cincy’s first at the deadline last year, aren’t we???

I think we should release Barber, and keep Choice. if they can get a 4th for Bennett, do it. I don’t think they would though.

I also think the next 2 drafts needs to be OL heavy. Time to address that part of the team.

I agree that the new coach needs to pick his own assistants. That’s a must.

Good post.

But if we can trade Choice and Felix for a pair of 2nd rounders, perhaps parlay it into a 1st round pick…I would consider drafting Engram. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about short yardage or speed or 3rd down backs, we would have one all-round (plain and simple) Running Back.

Getting rid of the entire Offensive or Defensive line isn’t that smartest idea. Get rid of the worst players that you can find a replacement for. Sign Logan Mankins as the LT, move Free to RT. Holland takes over for Davis and we make sure to draft someone to replace Holland by the next year. Gurode and Kosiar can stay but they also need replacements from the draft for the next year, with the possibility that one of those 2 becomes the back-up or Costa takes over if he pans out well throughout this year. Defensive Line, move Ratliff to Igor’s spot, put Josh Brent as the NT. Keep Spears in his spot but draft a replacement or let one of the younger guys try for the job. OLBs are safe. Keep Bradie James, but replace Brooking with a stud or try out Lee. I don’t feel like Lee is the best fit for this as we need a REALLY good LB. Draft another Cornerback to eventually replace Scandrick/Newman, possibly a smaller school play maker. Keep Sensabaugh and move Ball to a backup CB/S and either draft a star Safety or get one in FA.

Top draft needs are: Safety, OL and LB. With a smaller emphasis on DL.

Trade Marty B, try to trade Columbo and Davis. Trade one or 2 of the RBs. Possibly trade Roy Williams. For the most part, all of the non-starters are either trade-bait or cuttable. They will all be given a chance to win the rosters spots, but all of them are up for grabs.

I don’t know as much with coaches and what not, but I like Schott as head coach and Pettine as Defensive Coordinator. I’m not biased on OC.

but to see this fanpost only a few short weeks after your “never give up hope” fanpost pretty well sums up the blinding crash this team has suffered.

JJ is approaching Al Davis status with his refusal to see the obvious. Bring in a new HC who is willing to get his hands dirty and start rebuilding. In today’s NFL, change can come quickly so we need to rebuild the Oline, secondary and bring in a blue chip QB to start grooming, now.

I hope Wade finishes the season out so we are guaranteed the #1 draft pick because I don’t see this team winning more than one or two games this year.

One of the things that often goes without discussion is the intense scrutiny that Cowboys are constantly under.

The media and the fans are omnipresent and highly oppressive when anything but a bling results from their season.

As a result, you need a strong personality at the head coaching spot. That person has to be able to withstand the constant criticism and not buckle under the pressure. I’ve seen Wade look like a guy who WANTS to be somewhere else during those press conferences. I want a guy who WANTS to be there and who takes those bullets so his team can be insulated from the chaos.

Look, if finding the next Vince Lombardi was easy, everyone would have one coaching their team. Dallas needs a micro-manager who will insert hiimself into every bit of minutiae that presents itself and who will exert absolute and total control of his team.

Right now, you’d have to think Gruden is the guy they will lean towards, but a lot can (and will) change.

First, why are you considering Jim Harbaugh? The guy is a head coach at Stanford, and you are going to think about hiring him to the most scrutinized coaching position on the continent?

Second, Tom C should stay, we just need to overhaul the O Line coaching/scouting. The Cowboys always seem to be finding value with UDFAs and lower round picks, and I for one don’t want to lose that asset.

Third, why in the WORLD are you building a power running team?! The rules and the league are becoming about the pass, that’s why I would focus the improvements to be on the Offensive Line and making it as efficient as possible. Make the O line less about size and more about athleticism and the lineman having three qualities: quick feet, a decent punch, and the intangible of football smarts(think the LSU Center who snapped the ball because he saw it was about to be a delay of game penalty in their game against Tennessee.

Maybe even move to a zone blocking scheme. I think Kyle Shanahan would make Felix Jones look like Arian Foster in no time.

I think there’s too much focus on athleticism. This FO gets infatuated with athletic guys that are actually dumb as shit. Prime examples are Martellus Bennet and Jason Williams.

Draft some smart guys for a change.

Jerry isn’t leaving, but with the massive disappointment I do wonder if he will finally make some changes that are needed. The biggest one is to relinquish the GM role to his son Stephen, this has been mentioned by Norm, and have Jerry stay the President of the organization where he can watch by and stick to making the Cowboys media favorites and to always have the stadium being used. Stephen I think has a much better eye for the way things should be ran and would be willing to hire a coach that isn’t a yes man like Wade and thrive while Jerry has always seemed to quarrel with coaches that would go against what he says. In scouting and drafting of players you always have to question how much is on the scouting team and how much is on Jerry for fail drafts. So far every other year has been a complete bust it seems. I think we should keep the scouting team in tact to see how this draft turns out and to see how they do without the Jerry presence making decisions. Coaching I want a guy with some fire, a guy that knows what he is doing and has coached a team to success. Basically the opposite of Wade, the top choice would be Gruden, yes he did take over a Dungy team but also he was the one to coach them to a SB victory, and he did it with Brad Johnson who even in his best days is a fraction of the QB that Romo is. For Defensive Coordinator Pepper Johnson of NE. I want a guy that has been around successful teams and he has been with the Patriots through their 5 SB appearances and their line is always one of the top 2-3 lines. For Offensive coordinator, this may sound weird to some but I think Romo and Felix would flourish with this system, Mike Martz. I think Chicago will drop Lovie Smith after this year and with that the Coordinators will get the boot as well and Martz may be just what this team needs, an experienced mind that also has SB experience. The only other coaches I would keep would be Ray Sherman and Dave Campo, I still have faith in Campo being a good coach.

Players:
This is easily the hardest part because it will take the most changes to fix. I still think our core players are very good and should stay, but there are a lot of glaring weaknesses and tweaks that should’ve been made a long time ago.
Players to keep:
Romo
McGee
Felix
Choice
Austin
Dez
Ogletree
Hurd
Free
Gurode
Bigg
Costa
Young
Spears
Ratliff
Brent
Bowen
Ware
Spencer
James
Lee
Butler
B. Williams
Newman
Jenkins
Scandrick
AoA
Church
McCray
McBriar
LP
I think Gurode should be moved to Guard, I think his problems are he doesn’t read defenses well enough but is physically very gifted still so guard should treat him nicely. I think Ratliff should move to DE, where his quickness and strength will help hold the line and he will be sittin in Olshansky’s old spot right next to Ware which is quite terrifying, and have Brent inserted into the NT role to challenge to start.
The rest cut, or let them go in FA. I don’t have a list of potential FAs at the end of the year and with the CBA issues it wouldn’t be correct even if I had one.

In the draft, right now we are sitting at pick number 2/3 tied with Carolina.
1st round – Patrick Peterson, S/CB, LSU – lockdown corner with size, range and instincts to move to FS where he could become Reed-esque.
2nd Round – Mike Pouncey, C/G, Florida – Big nasty Center that can make the calls
3rd Round – Kenrick Ellis, NT, Hampton – Massive 6’5" 340 pound NT that can sit there and be effecitive
4th round – Joseph Barksdale OT, LSU – A bit nasty OT to take Columbo’s spot.